So normally, whenever I upload chapters, it usually means I've just finished writing a future chapter. I like to be at least three chapters ahead of what I post, just so I can make sure that I don't accidentally make any contradictions and that I have a chance to change something if need be. However, the chapter I'm currently writing has been taking a little more time than normal, so I figured I'd just go ahead and post this chapter now rather than wait until that one is done. I'll probably return to my previous structure as before, but hey, weird stuff happens sometimes.
This chapter was a fun one to write, mainly because we're looking at the other team this time around. I did my best to capture their personalities and how Sammy interacts with them, so hopefully this one turns out fine.
Just as a quick and selfish reminder, this story now has a TV Tropes page, so if you have anything you want to add to it feel free to go ahead and do it!
Chapter 8: The Unwilling Baby-Sitters Club
An airhorn rang out from seemingly everywhere, startling Sammy awake and causing her to shoot upright out of bed with a scream.
It also caused her to crack her head off of the bunk above her.
"OW!" she yelled out, clutching at her forehead. She rolled onto her side, but that only caused her to fall off of the bed and onto the floor. Tangled in a heap of bed sheets, holding her head in pain and wishing it away to no effect, Sammy was vaguely aware that someone was saying something from somewhere, but she was still far too groggy to make out what was being said or who was saying it.
Once the pain began to subside, she found herself slowly falling back to sleep on the spot, but the sound of heavy footsteps and another voice caused her to stay awake longer. Realizing that maybe she should be getting up, she rose and blinked. She tried rubbing out the sleep gunk that built up overnight, but it was like it was sticking around just to spite her. She squinted through it, and found herself staring at a pair of extremely long legs.
Looking up, she saw Jasmine looking down at her with concerned confusion. "Hey, can you hear me?" she was saying.
"Y-Yeah," Sammy stammered, rising to her feet and nearly tripping over the bed sheets wrapped around them. "Sorry, I'm normally a heavy sleeper and I haven't been in a bed of any kind in so long."
"Fair enough, I guess," Jasmine said. "Uh, just to make sure, did you hear Chris just then?"
Blinking rapidly, she asked, "Chris was here?"
"Riiight. Listen, Chris is calling for us and we don't want to be late. He's gonna make the last person to arrive eat a rotten egg. Probably literally."
That woke Sammy up. "Aw, crap. Okay, I'm awake." She shook her head free of cobwebs and smacked her cheeks a few times, and quickly put her uniform back on. "What about breakfast?"
"I got some for you right here." Jasmine patted the side of Scarlett's bed, where a basket of fruit lay ready and waiting.
"Oh, good, thank you. I'll probably have to eat and run."
"Good idea. Time for us to take off."
Jasmine literally leapt off of the balcony, landing with a loud thud on the ground. "Isn't that dangerous?!" Sammy shouted at her from above.
"Mate, you don't know half the things I've done out in the wild," Jasmine answered. "A little leap like this is nothing for me!"
"You do seem pretty tough," Sammy yielded. "Here, catch!" She tossed the basket of fruit down after her, which Jasmine easily caught, and quickly climbed down the rope ladder. She nearly missed a step and slipped right off, but she managed to catch herself before that could happen. "And you have to climb this thing every day?" she asked upon reaching the ground.
"Eh, you'll get used to it, I'm sure," Jasmine said with a shrug. She tossed Sammy an apple and started off. "Let's go."
Sammy knew running and eating at the same time wasn't going to do her any favors, but it wasn't like she had a choice. If Chris was serious about that rotten egg thing - which, knowing Chris, he was - then she was not going anywhere near it. She was lucky Jasmine was around to help her wake up, otherwise she wouldn't know what to do.
It's a good thing I got swapped with Amy. Imagine if I was stuck on this team with Amy, Topher and Scarlett. That would honestly be my nightmare come true.
"So," Jasmine started.
Sammy swallowed the apple in her mouth and did her best to ignore the oncoming stomach cramps. "So?"
She gave Sammy a knowing glance. "Word on the block is that someone's been trying to play matchmaker."
She was halfway to taking another bite before she stopped herself. "What? Who? Me? No way. I've never even had an actual conversation with anyone until last week."
"That right?" Jasmine asked. "Funny. Shawn said the same thing."
Sammy groaned and threw her head back, but the groan quickly turned into a laugh. "Oh, Shawn, you're not supposed to tell!" Then a thought occurred to her. "Wait. If you're the one telling me this, then that means…"
"Yep." She was grinning from ear to ear. "Shawn asked me out. We've started dating!"
A squee escaped Sammy's lips before she could hold it in. "Aaah, that's incredible! I knew it was bound to happen!"
"Yeah! It actually only happened about half an hour ago. He caught me foraging and we had a serious heart-to-heart, and the next thing I know he's asking me out. You should've seen him, though, he was so adorable trying to get the words out!"
Sammy could easily picture that. "Yeah, I bet. He, uh, hasn't said or done anything weird though, has he?"
Jasmine raised a brow. "Weird how? Like, creeper weird? 'Cuz you know I can take him out in a single punch if he tries anything, right?"
"Oh, no no, nothing like that, you can obviously defend yourself. I mean like, zombie weird. It's sorta like… his obsession? And I was worried it'd start getting on your nerves or something."
She hummed in thought, tilting her head from side to side. "He's seemed pretty alright when we talked earlier."
"Ehh, that's 'cuz I told him to take it easy."
"Oh! I see now. Well either way, not really. He does have that sort of look in his eye whenever it gets brought up, but I don't think it'll be an issue. I'll talk to him about it if it becomes a bit much, so don't you worry about it."
"Oh perfect, that's what I was hoping for." Sammy was so happy that it was working out for them so far. Granted, it had only been 30 minutes, but if Jasmine kept up that attitude then hopefully things would be smooth sailing for them.
"Last one there eats a rotten egg!"
Sammy, thankfully, managed to keep her scream on the inside for once, and simply turned her head back towards the direction of the voice. Topher was catching up to them, a smile that could rival Chris's in smugness plastered on his face. "You see? It sounds better with a more youthful inflection. Agree or strongly agree?" She was just about to ask what the heck he was talking about when he ran straight into a tree.
For whatever reason, Sammy didn't think to stop to help him - instead she threw away her finished apple core and took a handful of strawberries. "You know… I sometimes forget Topher is on this team."
Jasmine drew in a sharp breath. "Not gonna lie, I do too."
"Has he even done that much to help?" she asked. "Feels like he goes under the radar kind of often."
"Aside from the odd thing here or there, he hasn't really done all that much," Jasmine admitted. "He keeps trying to impersonate Chris or something. I gave up attempting to figure out his angle a while ago."
"Really? How has he stuck around for this long?"
Jasmine shrugged. "We had bigger targets."
"I suppose. Hey, do you know anything about him and Amy? Apparently they were dating but aside from one time I haven't really seen any evidence of that."
"Who, Topher and Amy?" Jasmine asked. "They had a thing going for like, maybe a day or two? Then next thing you know, they're not even looking at each other."
"Wait, for real?" Sammy was almost certain that if either one of them would be able to hold a partner for longer, it was her sister. But then again, this entire deserted island experience had been one big streak of poking holes in Amy's lies and revealing her flaws, so perhaps this was just another one she fed to Sammy all her life. "You know, that kinda makes sense. She'd always tell me she had boys asking her out left and right and that she always turned them down, but I never actually saw anyone do that, much less hear about it from anyone else. I doubt she has any real experience with guys to begin with."
"You could be right," Jasmine said. "Amy certainly seemed like the type to build herself up like that."
"She really is. I still can't believe I fell for her lies all this-" She stopped when Jasmine's words finally sunk in. "Wait, hang on. 'Seemed'? Why past-tense?"
"Ohh, that's right, you haven't been around her all that much lately so you probably wouldn't know." She tossed Sammy an orange, but how she was going to peel it while running was beyond her. "The last couple of days she's been really down in the dumps for some reason. Something's been eating at her and making her all quiet and untalkative. And I don't think it's just because of Topher."
"Really? Could… it be me, then?" She got an inquisitive look from Jasmine. "I've been calling her out on her bullshit for the last week now. Is that… Could that actually be having an effect on her?" It did feel like she'd been a lot less snappy at me. At first, at least.
"Who knows, mate," Jasmine said. "Maybe you should try talking to her normally. Assuming she's even up for it."
Sammy scoffed. "Yeah. Let me know when pigs start flying, then we'll see if she wants to talk."
By that point, they finally made it to the clearing, but somehow they lucked out and ended up being the second and third people there. Aside from Chris, Scarlett was the first to show up. "Wonderful, you've made it," she said in that semi-disinterested tone she always talked in. "I commend you for not having to eat the rotten egg." She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, in the direction of an intern holding a very obviously green egg on a silver platter. He had a noticeable clothespin plugging his nose, and it was so bad that Sammy swore she could almost see the stench.
"Oof," Jasmine winced. "Yeah, lucky us indeed."
"Wow, he was being serious," Sammy mused in disgusted awe.
"I'm always serious," Chris informed them. "'Cept when I'm not."
Sammy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that checks out."
It didn't take much longer for the next set of campers to arrive, and to her surprise, it ended up being Shawn and Amy. The former skidded to a stop next to Jasmine and grinned widely at her (which was returned), while the latter came to an ungraceful stop and bent over onto her knees to catch her breath.
"I thought you said you ran," Shawn said to her.
"I did," Amy growled. Under her breath she muttered, "Once."
Shawn clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You'll never survive the apocalypse this way, you know that?"
Amy let out an even louder growl and turned to Sammy. "Does he always go on like this?"
Sammy shrugged. "You'll just have to get used to it."
"Great. Just great."
Sammy turned her attention to her ex-teammate and grinned. "Hey Shawn! How's it going?" she asked slyly.
"Oh you know, pretty alright," he said evenly. "Island's safe from undead invaders, we're pretty far in the game and closer to the million, and I got a freakin' girlfriend this morning!"
"That's what I was waiting to hear!" Sammy hollered, high-fiving Shawn and then Jasmine in excitement.
"Wait, Zombie Boy's got a girlfriend?!" Amy nearly screeched. "Who's the idiot who hooked up with him?"
Shawn snorted through his nose, and Sammy had to try and hold back her own laughter. "I dunno!" she said to her sister. "Why don't you ask her?" She directed her hand behind her, and revelled in how much Amy's face dropped into fright. "She's standing right here, after all."
Jasmine, deciding to play along, made a show of stretching her neck and making some rather effective cracking sounds. "Huh," she said lightly. "Guess we still have a problem to work out, even after you left us."
Sammy 100% expected Amy to revert to her original, haughty self, continue to call out Jasmine and Shawn, and somehow make the whole conversation about herself. It wouldn't be the first time she'd selfishly turn it around, and Sammy figured it would likely not be the last.
But when Amy's fearful eyes looked from Jasmine to Shawn, and then Shawn to Sammy, and didn't become a full on glare, she realized that something was definitely just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, it was confirmed even harder when Amy looked away and muttered in the quietest voice she could manage a single, simple, "Sorry."
Sammy stared, mouth open wide and too focused on her sister to care. Amy apologized, she thought in disbelief. Amy… apologized. What… What just happened? Amy… doesn't apologize.
The others noticed this too, but rather than look at Amy in surprise, they were staring at Sammy, perhaps looking for a reaction. She turned her back on her sister and towards Jasmine and Shawn, and with a stunned shake of her head she quietly said, "I guess this whole thing really is affecting Amy."
"Thought so," Jasmine said with a nod.
"I'll try talking to her about it at some point," Sammy said. When she saw the incredulous look Shawn was giving her, she answered his unasked question. "I know more than anyone she's a witch with a capital B, but if I'm able to get through to her then maybe… maybe she could change, too."
"You sure?" Shawn asked with a raised brow. "You know who you're talking about right?"
"I know," Sammy said. "But I don't think I'd forgive myself if I don't at least try. We'll have to see if anything comes out of it."
"Well, it's your funeral," Shawn said, shrugging. "Anyway, I have a message for you."
That was an unexpected thing to suddenly say. "A message?" Sammy repeated. "From who?"
"Sky," he said. He was looking at her as serious as he would be when talking about zombies. "It's… important."
"Uhh, I gathered that much. What's it about?"
Shawn's mouth formed a thin line, and he looked away uncomfortably. "That's… not exactly something I should be telling you."
"Huh?" It's important, but I can't know about it? "What does that mean?"
"It means, just wait for them to show up," he answered.
"'Them?' Sky and Ella?"
Shawn only nodded.
Sammy blinked in confusion, and she sent the look towards Jasmine, who only shrugged. "Al…right then," Sammy said unsuredly. "I'll wait for them."
She didn't have to wait long, as both girls entered the clearing soon after. Sammy felt her chest swell at being able to see Ella again, but it soon vanished when she saw the state she was in - her hair was a mess, her eyes crooked and eyebrows skewed, and she was clutching at her arm like a lifeline. Sky didn't look much better, if the bags under her eyes were anything to go by, and that was saying nothing about the serious look on her face.
Without a word Sammy rushed up to them. "What's wrong? What happened?" she asked immediately.
Ella noticeably tensed at her arrival, which started freaking Sammy out even more. Sky looked past her at the others, and said in a hushed tone, "We should talk about this quickly. Who knows when he'll start the challenge."
"I… okay," Sammy said warily.
"So," Sky started with a sigh. "Ella snuck out last night."
Sammy blinked, looking back and forth between both of them. "O…kay?"
"And she went to the junk piles. For this."
Sky raised a clenched fist and opened it for Sammy, and she gasped and covered her mouth.
It was the Hello Kitty utility knife from yesterday.
Sammy's eyes shot to Ella's arm.
No. No way.
"E… Ella, did you…?"
"No!" she immediately shouted, startling Sammy slightly. "No, I didn't! I…" She scrunched her face and turned away. "I didn't get the chance."
When Ella refused to say anymore, Sammy looked to Sky for clarification. "Shawn and I caught her before she could do anything," she said. "We're lucky he sleeps with one eye open. Otherwise…"
She turned back to Ella, who wouldn't look her in the eye. "Ella?" she tried, but there was no response from her. "Ella, please… I need to know. Did you do anything like this since we arrived on the island?"
There was a small shake of her head. "No," she said quietly. "The last time I did it was… just before we left for the airport." She hesitated for a second, but pressed on. "It somehow got out that I was chosen to be on the show, and some of the others from school came looking for me and… and…"
Sammy could see Sky looking at them in confused horror in the corner of her eye, but she was too focused on Ella to give her an explanation. "It's okay, you don't have to keep going," she said as soothingly as possible. "And… what about last night?"
It was obviously painful for her to talk about. "Our talk in the cave yesterday was… more unpleasant for me than I thought it would be. So many bad memories pushed themselves to the surface, and for the life of me I couldn't stop thinking about them." Her breathing hitched, and she turned away to wipe at her eyes. "I couldn't go back to just pretending they didn't happen, not after promising you I wouldn't do that. But then all of a sudden you got put on the other team, and it made me feel so… so empty. I knew you weren't really gone, I told you that myself. But I couldn't listen to myself, and it truly felt you weren't here anymore. And… then the urge to cut was just too strong. I didn't know what else to do."
There was a part of her that felt like she was at fault for that. Sammy tried to tell herself it wasn't her fault, or Ella's fault, but the thoughts lingered and she did her best to ignore them. "Oh, Ella, I'm sorry. I… I had no idea that you…"
"I know you didn't," she said. "I didn't want you to worry." She chuckled humorlessly and shook her head. "And look how that turned out…"
Sammy frowned, and reached out for Ella's hands. She had to pull the gloved hand off of the arm with the sleeve, but she met little resistance. "I'm not mad or upset," she told her. "I'm just thankful nothing happened. You know what might've happened if you used that rusty knife, right? It could've been really bad."
"I know," she said. "I… I really didn't want to. But…"
"Yeah, the urge… It must be really difficult when it happens."
Ella nodded. "Very difficult."
Sammy sincerely wished she was better equipped for this sort of situation, but the reality was she was not. She wouldn't do any less than her best, however, especially for the girl she liked. "Look," she started. "I'll be honest, there's so much I don't know about what you're going through. I mean, you've told me a lot, but I don't honestly know what to do in this situation. I really wish that wasn't the case, because I want to help you so much. And I know that I won't be able to completely fix anything with just a few words, but I want to help all the same, even if it's just a little bit."
Her smile gradually returned as Sammy spoke, which caused her to smile as well. Ella's eyes kept leaking, but Sammy had a suspicion that they had become tears of joy. "You're too good, you know that?" she asked.
Sammy gave a toothy grin. "That's why I'm the good twin. It's who I am."
Ella took one of Sammy's hands and cupped her cheek with it, prompting her face to turn red. "Yes, you're absolutely right."
Behind her, someone cleared their throat, and Sammy turned back around to see the majority of the others looking at them and waiting. Chris tapped a finger to his watch. "If you ladies are done…?"
To Ella, Sammy stuttered, "W-We should probably get back to it! Talk after the challenge?"
Ella nodded eagerly. "For sure."
Sky had at some point left the two of them to give them their privacy, and by the looks of it no longer had the knife on her, possibly having given it to one of the crew members. Additionally, at some point during their talk, Topher had showed up, though he looked a bit more green than when she saw him earlier. "You're not looking so good," Sammy observed when she returned to her team.
"Yeah, well," he said in a strained and pained voice, "there's a reason why people shouldn't eat rotten eggs."
It was only then that she realized the intern from earlier had left the area. "Oh. That sucks."
"Oh I know. I'm living it, so I know."
Chris called for attention and introduced the challenge then, revealing that this particular one was named 'Hush or Die'. The teams were to make their way through three unique danger zones as quietly as they could, because the louder they were, the more danger they'd be in. Zone one featured sleeping lions and deadly rattlesnakes; the second zone had both a blindfolded Chef Hatchet, who was waiting to blast anyone loud enough with his pasta gun, and the so-called 'Pasta Bear', who would be the first to chow down on anyone blasted with pasta; and the final zone was aptly titled 'The Avalanche Zone', and there were no points awarded for guessing what that one involved.
Topher, despite how much he looked like he was ready to puke, sauntered up to Chris and leaned on the TV. "You kinda ran out of creative steam coming up with the name for that one, huh? Old age'll do that to ya." For that last remark, he got a shockingly accurate pasta blast courtesy of Chef, and skidded in between the two teams, dazed and confused.
"If Chef has accuracy that good, while blindfolded, we may be in trouble," Sky murmured.
"She's right," Jasmine said to Sammy and Scarlett. "We'll have to up our game if we want to win. Let's try to keep our mouths shut for the rest of this challenge."
Topher sat up and complained about his hair, but then swiftly cleared his throat and smiled cockily at Chris. "These little games might be challenging for old people, but not us. You really need to start thinking younger, Chris."
Sammy smacked both of her hands to her face. "Aaand Topher fails step one."
"No, no," Chris said. "Topher makes a good point. You're all so young and agile… I should step it up. So now everyone will have to carry a special something through the entire challenge. It'll make it way harder." His grin widened to arrogant levels. "Everyone say, 'Thanks, Topher!'"
Seven sets of eyes fell on the guy covered in pasta and noodles, looking like some hopeless chump who walked down the wrong dark alleyway. "Thanks, Topher," everyone said in unison.
"Okay," Chris said nonchalantly, and clapped his hands twice. "Bring in the babies!"
"Wait… babies?" Ella repeated in disbelief.
"Want to run that by us again?" Jasmine asked him warily.
"You heard me," Chris replied, and pointed behind the teams.
Everyone looked, and everyone gasped. Two interns were rolling out a baby carriage each, one pink and one blue, and started handing each of the baffled contestants a small bundle of cloth wrapped up over an actual, literal baby.
"This… cannot be legal," Sky said in disbelief as she accepted a baby.
"I've studied Canadian child regulations," Scarlett said, looking at her child with worry. "This is most certainly not legal."
"Where the hell did you get these, McLean?" Amy asked, holding her baby at arm's length. "Did… Did you kidnap these kids?"
"Who's to say?" Chris replied with a casual shrug. "We don't like to disclose challenge details with the contestants."
She stared at him in absolute disgust. "You are a sick man. You know that?"
"Why thank you." He held up his air horn. "Just as a heads up, make sure your babies are still asleep. A crying child in a lion's den probably won't end well."
"And who's fault would that be?!" Sammy whispered loudly.
"Yours, obviously." He pressed the horn for a fraction of a second, making only the tiniest noise. "And, go!"
No one started immediately, as they were too busy staring in quiet shock at their new packages. But slowly, after some urging from Chris, they started towards the first zone.
"This is ridiculous," Sammy whispered to herself, her eyes darting from one lion to the next, and occasionally down at the bundle in her arms. She'd never held a baby before, as she was too busy being Amy's guinea pig to do any babysitting, and it really only occurred to her then that she was carrying something incredibly fragile. Who's child is this, anyway? God, I bet they're worried out of their minds…
She sidestepped a rattlesnake, thankful that it was asleep like the rest, and was about to move on when a hand covered her mouth and dragged her behind a tree and a large bush. She started panicking and fighting back, but when she saw it was just the rest of her team she eased up. "Warn me next time," she said to Jasmine sharply when she took her hand from her mouth.
"Sorry, it was the first thing I thought of," said her friend. "Listen, we should all stick together going forward. We need everyone to cross the finish line, and it'll be easier if we don't have to go tracking one of us down so we can bail them out if things get out of hand. All in?"
"Agreed," replied Sammy.
"Sounds good," said Scarlett.
"Eh, whatever," mumbled Topher, too busy on his phone to look up.
Sammy immediately did a double take. "Whoa whoa whoa. Since when the heck did you have your phone here? And why are you on it in the middle of a challenge?"
"Hm?" Topher looked up briefly before going back to it. "Oh, it's not mine."
She gawked at him, her mouth hanging open. "That… just gives me more questions." He didn't seem to even hear that remark. "Is he for real?" she asked her other teammates.
"You get used to his quirks after a while," Scarlett said. Despite this, she pushed the phone away from Topher's face and forced him to look at her. "Though she is correct. It's unwise to be using it in the middle of a challenge, especially one that requires stealth. Put it away, and turn it down, unless you want us to become the lions' next meal."
Topher glared at her. "I'll have you know I'm waiting on a very important call. I'll put it on vibrate, but if the call comes in I am so answering it."
"You're expecting a call? In the middle of the game?!" Sammy asked. With a shake of her head, she whispered, "What crazy subplot have I been missing out from this team?"
"Let's hope that call comes in after we're done," Jasmine said, and proceeded onwards with Scarlett and Topher in tow. "C'mon, let's get a move on."
Sammy stared at her as she walked away. "You're just going to let that slide?" she asked, but received no answer. "Ugh. This team is weird." She took two steps forward, heard a mechanical whirring, and looked back to see open skies. "Wait, weren't we just behind a tree?" Again, no one responded to her, too far ahead as they were, and she sighed in exasperation. "Never mind the team, this island is weird."
She quickly caught up to them, and for the next few minutes the four members of Kinosewak managed to maneuver around the sleeping animals. Once Sammy nearly stepped on a rattlesnake, but Jasmine was there to catch her before she did any harm. "Eyes on the ground, too," Jasmine whispered to her.
"I know, I know," Sammy said. "It's just hard to look everywhere, plus making sure the baby is okay." The little bundle of life, nestled in a pink blanket, was still sound asleep despite the stress its babysitter was under. "I wonder if they'll ever know they were on this show when they grow up…"
"Who knows, but now's not the time to wonder that," Jasmine said, motioning her forward. "C'mon, let's get to zone two before-"
"YES! A text!"
The reaction was instantaneous - Topher's exclamation caused the closest lion to rouse from its nap, look at the four of them and start to growl hungrily.
"Uh," Jasmine stammered as the beast drew closer. "This is not good."
"Argh, you can say that again," Topher groaned, looking at the phone in annoyance. "It's just a stupid picture of a cat!"
"Oh, is that all?" Sammy asked him. "Maybe put the phone away and pay attention to the actual cat in front of us."
If his reaction was anything to go by, he didn't even notice the lion until now. "Ooh, yeah, this is kinda bad."
"You think?!" Sammy hissed at him. What the hell did Amy see in him anyway?!
The lion was staring down its prey, its back arched and ready to pounce at any given moment. Its teeth were huge, and would likely be able to rip apart anything that tried to run away. This was a dangerous situation, and Sammy was unsure of what to do. They couldn't try to outrun it, it'd catch them in a second. Subduing it might be easier, what with Jasmine on the team, but even then that was a longshot considering there were so many more around. This is probably even more of a threat than the bear was…
Then it hit her. "The bear."
"What?" Jasmine asked.
"Topher, hold my-" He was on the phone again, and she quickly changed her mind. "Scarlett, hold my baby." She immediately tossed her kid to the brainiac, who caught it easily. "Jasmine, hold steady." Sammy proceeded to scale her tall friend, using her hips and shoulders like steps on a ladder, and placed her legs around Jasmine's neck. "Now roar!" She began waving her hands around quickly and widely, all the while screaming at the lion.
Jasmine picked up on her plan. "Oh, nice thinking!" She did the same, and even approached the lion to get right up in its face. Its bared teeth were put away as it watched the two approach it, and it backed up with every step they took. Soon it seemed to have enough, and dashed out of the area at record speed.
"Yes!" Sammy cheered, pumping her fists.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Jasmine let her down and gave her a high-five. "Look at you, saving the day! I never would've expected this outta you last week."
"OMG, me neither," Sammy agreed. "I guess that's my character development at work."
Jasmine gave her a look. "Uh… what?"
"You know, 'cuz we're on TV?" She pointed at one of the many cameras aimed at them.
"Ohh." Jasmine snorted and shook her head. "I don't know whether to laugh at that or punch you in the face for it."
"Not the last one, please."
"Incredible work," Scarlett congratulated, approaching them and handing Sammy back her baby. "I wasn't aware that you knew about the responses common in lions and other predators. Color me impressed."
She said that with a smile so genuine that Sammy was almost sick to her stomach. "Yeah, well… Just because I have blonde hair, doesn't make me unintelligent." Though that idea was taken from Beardo…
"Still, though, it got us in the clear for the time being," Scarlett continued. She turned back towards the rest of zone one and hummed quietly. "Odd that your screaming didn't wake the other lions, but now is not the time to worry about such questions. We should move."
"She's right," Jasmine said. "Let's skedaddle."
They set out once more, but Sammy remembered something and looked back. As expected, Topher was too busy looking at the phone to even notice the three had left. "Oh my god." She walked up to him and slapped the phone out of his hands and onto the ground.
"Whoa, hey, what gives?" he asked in surprise.
"Put that stupid thing away before you get us in trouble again!" she said sternly. "I'm not going to be lion food or get filled with snake venom because you couldn't keep your mouth shut when it was supposed to be!"
He looked rather unimpressed with her outburst, and casually picked the phone back up and headed on. "Take a chill pill, girl. You're starting to sound too much like Amy."
"E-Excuse me?!" She said that just a bit too loud, but thankfully the only lion near her simply rolled over onto its back. A little behind the Salmons were some of the Bears, where they had stopped and stared at Sammy's outburst. Smiling sheepishly and waving, she quickly caught back up with Topher and glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like, toots," he said without looking at her. At least he had put the phone away. "Keep up the glare like that and it's gonna get stuck on your face."
"The only reason I'm angry is because of how you're acting," she muttered. Topher didn't have any snarky comment at that, and Sammy merely rolled her eyes. "What was up with you and my sister anyway?" she found herself asking for some reason. "Were you two dating or something? 'Cuz it really didn't look like it."
Topher scoffed at this. "We were. For like, a day, maybe."
That's just what Jasmine said. More or less. "Why so short?"
"Uh, have you met your sister?" he asked, finally turning to face her. "She was whiny and entitled and thought the world revolved around her! Especially when I told her I mistook you for her that one day."
"Which, you know, was your fault."
"Hey, I owned up to it, but she took things way too far by being completely catty about it! No way I was going to date anyone who acted like that."
"Gosh, it must've been so tough having to deal with someone like that," Sammy said dryly. Topher didn't seem to get the irony. "But… hang on, you broke up with her?"
"Well, yeah." They stepped over a rattlesnake that hissed at them, but ultimately paid them no mind. "I mean, she was only doing it to get back at you. Her heart wasn't in it."
That was news to her, but it made so much sense. "Wait, she said that?"
"Not exactly, but it was pretty obvious. At first I thought she was serious about it, but by the second day it was clear she was just using me to get even." He paused for a second. "Neither of you are the picture of subtlety, really. What with you and that lady friend of yours."
Sammy's face flared red. Great. Just great. Shawn was right, I am being super obvious. She had her worries about that, worries that she'd need to sort through. But she shook her head, figuring this was no time for such thoughts. "So she really did hook up with you for me calling her out back then, huh?"
"Looks like it," he said.
She thought this through, all the while avoiding anything that would do her harm. So back on the third day, I called out Amy for being too focused on hurting me than helping herself. The second I do that, she gets a boyfriend, but doesn't act any differently than normal towards him, which alienates him and causes him to break up with her a few days later. That must've been a huge blow to her ego.
And despite that, Sammy could only frown.
So why do I feel bad for her?
She turned back around to look at the Bears, and spotted Amy creeping past a few lions. The baby in her arms seemed like it was starting to stir, but she managed to rock it gently back to sleep before it began to cry. She wiped her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief, and her eyes fell onto Sammy looking at her, causing her to quirk her brow.
And whatever possessed her to do it, Sammy would likely never know, but she gave her sister a half-smile. Not a glare, or a snarl, but a smile that she hoped would convey, 'I still don't like you, but I'm glad you're doing alright.' Whether the message got through to her or not, Sammy wasn't sure, and she continued on with her team. I want to get Amy's side of the story, too, but the game comes first. I'll seek her out later.
"Shawn!" Jasmine suddenly said, prompting Sammy to look farther ahead and see Shawn leaning on the sign indicating the start of zone two. "How'd you get here so fast?"
"Sleeping cats and oversized poisonous worms with fangs are nothing compared to the zombie apocalypse," he explained confidently. "I'm glad to see you made it."
"Well of course," Jasmine said. "For me, this stuff is nothing compared to the dangers of the outback back home. But, shouldn't you be getting back to your team? All members need to finish or else it won't count, right?"
"Yeah, I know, that's why I'm waiting here," he said. "Those girls are taking their time though…"
"We should get a move-on before they catch up to us," Scarlett said, and took off past Shawn. Topher followed suit without a word.
We really should stick together, but seeing as how these two just got together… "I'm, uh," Sammy said to Jasmine and Shawn with a knowing grin, "I'm gonna follow them." She ran after them and into the next zone. From the looks of it, the second zone was mostly barren, save for Chef Hatchet not too far down the way, blindfolded and with a giant bazooka slung over his shoulder. Upon further inspection, however, there also seemed to be traps laid about the field, such as horns and other items that could cause noise by stepping on them.
"Everyone, ensure that your feet touch the ground and not anything else," Scarlett instructed. "We all saw how good Chef's aim is, and that pasta seems to be a special blend that sticks to surfaces more easily than it would otherwise."
"Got it," Sammy said. She didn't like Scarlett, that much was clear, but the challenge came before all else, and she didn't really mind following her instructions if it meant winning.
Astoundingly, Topher was back on the phone. "C'mon, c'mon…" he was muttering, tapping at the screen, and the phone let out a little tune. "Ah, yeah! Level three!"
"And now you're playing games," Sammy said, quite honestly amazed. "How about instead of that game, you focus on this one? For once."
Topher gave her a side-long glance and pocketed the phone. "Alright, sheesh. Touchy much?"
Oh, I just want to scream at him! She kept her cool, however, and tried breathing deeply to calm herself.
He decided now was the time to show off what five years of on-camera poise classes earned him. Which ended in a whole lot of nothing as he failed to see the horn under his foot and got blasted with pasta for his trouble. He hit a tree with a scream, and Sammy and Scarlett ran up to him, careful to avoid any other traps. He was stuck there, but thankfully the baby he was carrying was spared from getting splatted. "Ow, ow! It's so spicy!" he cried out in pain.
"Uh oh…" came Chris's voice over the loudspeaker, "here comes Pasta Bear!"
It was further past Chef that he appeared, so it was a little difficult to make him out, but there was indeed a giant mass of fur approaching at quite a hasty speed.
And for some reason, Sammy found that she was frozen on the spot.
Flashes of the bear from the stream forced themselves into her mind, at being held hostage by its claws, at nearly being chewed up by its huge teeth and jaws. The wall of brown fur was growing bigger and bigger, and Sammy felt as if she were shrinking in fear from it just as fast.
Oh god, oh crap, no no no, I don't want to deal with another bear, not this soon! Not ever! Why are there so many goddamn bears around this season?! And… and why can't I move?! I don't- I don't want to-
She suddenly felt herself shaking from side to side without meaning to. "Snap out of it, girl! Look alive!"
Sammy tried her best to shake the anxiety and dread from her head, and looked up to Jasmine for guidance. "W-What should we do?"
"Same as before." Jasmine took Sammy's baby for her and bent down. "Get on my back and we'll scare it!"
"What about-" She looked to see Scarlett already working on freeing Topher. "Oh. Never mind!" Sammy wasted no more time and quickly scaled her back. She roared with all her might, waving her arms even more than before since Jasmine's arms were preoccupied. There was a bit more fear in her screams, but there was nothing she could do to change that. She likely wouldn't think of bears the same way ever again, now.
Unfortunately, Pasta Bear ran straight past them, not bothering with them at all, and it was only then that Sammy saw the blindfold around his eyes.
"Wait, what?" Sammy said as the bear ran right past them without stopping.
"Did I forget to mention that Pasta Bear is running on smell?" Chris asked from everywhere. "My bad!"
Sammy vaguely remembered Sky and Shawn telling her about Bling Bear from the cave yesterday, and how it was basically just Scuba Bear wearing gold chains, jewelry and clothes. This time, 'Pasta Bear' was decked out in everything as before, but now there was a chef's hat on top of his backwards baseball cap. "Isn't his design going a bit overboard?" Sammy asked no one in particular.
"Scarlett! Work faster!" Jasmine shouted at the brainiac.
Scarlett's arms moved much faster, and thankfully she was able to get enough of the pasta off of Topher for him to pull himself free on his own. "Aw, yeah! Topher's back, baby!" He held the child in his hands out in front of him. "Heh. Literally."
"Uh, you realize you still have a problem, right?" Scarlett asked him, pointing to his shirt and heading back towards the girls. "I'd start running if I were you."
Topher looked down at his shirt and saw the rest of the pasta still clinging to it. "Ooh, crap."
"Run!" Scarlett called to the others, and Sammy wasted no time hopping down from Jasmine's shoulders. Accepting her baby back, the three took off towards Chef, being careful not to step on any loud traps along the way. They passed by the cook quietly, who seemed preoccupied with other noises farther away, and the girls managed to reach the end of the zone. Topher, who finally managed to get Pasta Bear off his tail, also managed to get to the end without triggering anything as well.
"HA! Easy breezy!" Topher yelled triumphantly.
"Will you be quiet for once?" Sammy hissed at him, her annoyance at him over-powering her fear of the bear. "You're gonna make Chef-" A loud blast from behind, and a shadow passed over them. "-fire on us again. Run!"
No one wasted any time taking off for zone three. Sammy pushed her legs as fast as they could go, but she was still unsure if they'd be able to make it.
Scarlett just so happened to look up at the incoming pasta and gasped. "He aimed for where we're going to be! Everyone stop and duck!"
They didn't question her, and everyone hit the dirt at the same time, careful not to disturb the babies. Just as she said, the pasta flew over their heads and landed just a few feet in front of them.
Sammy involuntarily sniffed. It smells so good. Why would he waste good food like that?! Isn't he a chef?! Her stomach growled, but there was no time for that.
"Nice, Scarlett!" Jasmine said quietly, and directed everyone to keep going at a lower volume. All three girls had to give Topher the stink eye when he reached for the phone, and he wisely kept it in his pocket with a nervous chuckle.
Zone three was upon them, and they were still in the lead. Sammy took a look back to see if the Bears were still doing okay, but was actually surprised to see they were closer than she had anticipated. Ella and Amy both had been blasted with pasta, their clothes covered in noodles and sauce, but it looked like they managed to give Pasta Bear the slip. Sammy was both relieved and nervous. "They're gaining on us," she informed the others. "Let's pick up the pace."
"But we're still ahead of them, and that's what matters," Jasmine said confidently. "We've got this in the bag!" She high-fived Sammy, and went to high-five Topher, but of course…
"Oh, man, I actually have all four bars in this area!" he exclaimed, eyes glued to the phone.
Though she was really starting to get annoyed with him - Funny how it wasn't until I got out of my shell that I started finding other people infuriating, not just Amy - it wasn't Sammy who snapped. Scarlett grit her teeth, grabbed Topher by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close to her face. "I swear, if you lose this challenge for us, I will make sure every waking moment of your miserable life will have you wishing you never met me. Do I make myself clear?"
Sammy felt chills from that, and not the good kind. "Whoa. When'd Scarlett get so scary?" she whispered to Jasmine.
"No clue," she replied. "That threat would've made Max run home crying, though."
"Oh, for real."
Topher smartly put away the phone without any complaints, and the four quietly dashed off once more. With every step they took toward the snowy cliff, the colder it became, and Sammy was acutely aware that her ripped up uniform was doing little to protect her from it. Doesn't help that winter is my least favorite season, anyway.
Chris was standing in their way not too far down, along with the two interns rolling the baby carriages from before. The host stopped the team before they went past him. "Congratulations, Team Kinosewak," he said in a loud whisper. "Still in the lead and just one more zone to go. First, I need you to hand in your babies." One of the interns approached them with the carriage, and motioned for Sammy to put the baby in.
"What, just like that?" Jasmine asked as the carriage moved down the line.
"Yeah," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "Lawyers called and said something about danger and lawsuits and blah-blah-blah…"
"Wow, they said that just then?" Sammy asked. "I'm surprised this didn't come up earlier. You know, when you were actually kidnapping them?"
"Oh, some people voiced complaints," Chris told her proudly. "We just didn't listen."
"So you, uh, didn't have a backup plan to keep things interesting, huh?" Topher snidely asked him. "It's like you're losing your touch or something."
Scarlett quite violently elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to grunt in pain. "Don't antagonize the host if the only thing we get out of it is more trouble!"
"Duly noted," Topher said in a groan.
As they gently walked off once more, Jasmine started looking around the area. "Okay, seriously. I've explored practically the entire island in my down time. So why is it that I can't remember this place? It's like… it just popped into existence!"
"Yeah, this island is really messing with my head," Sammy said to her. "With the computer and the elevator yesterday, it's almost like-"
"This section of the island has always been here," Chris said to them from behind, interrupting her thoughts. "Maybe you guys just need to get your eyesight adjusted!"
Sammy and Jasmine shared a look. "I get the feeling he's covering something up," Sammy whispered.
"I agree," Jasmine said. "And I want to find out what it is, and why."
Sammy nodded, and refocused her efforts on staying silent. All they could do now was walk as quickly and quietly as possible. She was able to hear the Bears talking with Chris and handing over their babies, but there was still a noticeable gap between the teams, so she wasn't all that afraid of being overtaken.
Her age-old anxiety was trying to make her think that, should the Bears lose, Amy would not be the one going home despite being promised the opposite. But after everything she'd gone through, every celebratory meal, every comforting conversation she'd had with her old team, Sammy knew that those thoughts were false. She trusted Ella, and Sky, and… Shawn, somewhat, though he was a bit of an outlier… But regardless, they were all against Amy being on the team, so she knew for certain that her future was set if they lost.
Or rather… when they lost. The finish line was just in front of them now. It was only a few more steps and they'd be the winners, and Sammy was looking forward to the meal they'd be served tonight.
In hindsight, perhaps they should've actually taken the phone from Topher.
"YYYYESSS!" he suddenly shrieked to the heavens.
That was when the rumbling started.
"I'm gonna rip you a new one!" Jasmine screamed at him, but she never got to make good on that promise as the snow started falling from above.
Sammy had never been in an avalanche before, which was something she was proud of. So when the snow quite literally crushed her beneath its weight and slammed her to the ground, her head ringing and the room for breathing far too confined, she decided then and there that she was going to avoid snowy mountains for the rest of her life.
And none of that wasn't an exaggeration either - the snow was packed and heavy on her face, and made breathing very, very difficult. She tried pushing her way up with every bit of strength she had, but she couldn't get her body to move at all.
That was when the panic started to set in. She squirmed to no avail, she tried to make noise but couldn't risk opening her mouth and filling it with snow, and could only make pitiful moaning noises. Quickly, her lungs were on fire, and her head was starting to feel lighter. Oh god oh god oh god I can't breathe I can't move I can't breathe I don't want to die not like this please someone anyone save me please please please someone help me-
She thought she heard voices, and a few different noises, but before she could confirm any of it her consciousness slipped and she fell into blackness.
The first thing she heard when she came to was beeping. She let out a groan and tried to move, which she managed to do with difficulty, but moving was weird and she felt sluggish and part of her just wanted to keep lying down. When it became apparent that she was awake for good, she opened her eyes and had to blink away the spots and blinding lights. Her head and chest ached, and on top of that she was freezing, despite what must've been a warm blanket wrapped around her.
The groan she let out had prompted movement, which she could barely see through the light. A dark figure stood above her and was saying something to her, but she was still too dazed to make it out. She felt some sort of shifts in her arms, and she cried out in pain once or twice from those shifts hurting her, but the discomfort settled down after a moment.
Gradually, her senses returned to her, and she could finally make out the voices.
"…wasn't under long enough for hypothermia to kick in. Her body temperature has dropped however, and she'll need a blanket with her for at least the rest of the day, same as the others."
"We have those to spare, yeah. Anything else?"
"I'll need to run a few more tests on her before I can get anything conclusive, but since she wasn't breathing when we recovered her, she may be suffering from lowered oxygen levels and increased blood pressure. She'll need to stay in here for the time being until I can figure out if she's fit for anything else."
"Lucky the challenge is over then. Let me know if anything comes up."
"You got it, boss."
Her vision was becoming clearer now, and she saw that the light shining down on her was coming from one of those adjustable lights you'd find in the dentist's office, though this one was looking a bit more beat up. She turned her head slowly, and found herself in what could only be the on-site infirmary, with several different machines, medicine, and papers to go around and create a sort of chaotic atmosphere. The beeping was coming from machines hooked up to her, and focusing on those noises helped her to clear her head somewhat.
"Wh… What's going on?" she managed to croak out. Her mouth felt like sandpaper.
The two other people in the room - Chris and Chef - approached her. "Samey," Chris greeted. For once, his smile didn't seem fake, and almost looked relieved. "You were out for a while. How are you feeling?"
She squinted her eyes and shook her head slightly. "It's S-Sammy," she answered automatically.
Chris clapped his hands once and turned on his heel. "Welp, she's fine. I'm headed back to my trailer."
He left with a whistle on his lips, and Chef could only shake his head. "Dick," he muttered.
"W-What happened to me?" she asked. Even after managing to focus a little bit, her head was still swimming. "Feels like I was d-dunked in a tub of f-frozen molasses."
"Try to stay still," Chef told her. "What do you remember?"
"Um…" She desperately tried to think back. "I remember the… the challenge. W-With the lions and the s-snakes and… you. Then the… the mountain." A feeling of irritation rose up in her. "And Topher. And the avalanche. And the…" She let out a shaky breath. "The feeling of being trapped and unable to breathe. That was… really scary."
"I know it was," Chef said, as kindly as his gruff voice could make it. "You were under the snow for a solid minute. By the time we got you out, you weren't breathing. How good is your lung capacity?"
"N…Not very." The last time she properly went swimming was ages ago, and putting her head underwater for longer than 20 seconds was nearly impossible nowadays.
"And given the amount of snow that fell on you, I'd say the breath got knocked from your lungs. You're lucky your girlfriend dug you out when she did, else we could've had a serious problem."
Ella. "W-Where is she?"
"We had to send her and the others back to their camps. She tried to stay with you, but we had to rush to get you in and couldn't have her here."
"I want t-to see her."
"Not until you're better, you won't. Now, I need to run some tests and make sure how you're really doing."
The tests were pretty standard: flashlight on the eyes, a thermometer under the tongue, and so on. Chef took a blood sample and, from Sammy's perspective, seemed displeased with the results, but he didn't say anything about it.
When he was looking at something over on his desk, Sammy spoke up. "W-What about the others? Jasmine and the other S-Salmons?"
"They got out fine," Chef told her. "You had the worst of it. Whereas the other three managed to at least get their heads out on their own, you were right down at the bottom of it all. We literally had to shovel you out."
"Huh. At least they're f-fine…" A thought occurred to her then, and it was a wonder why she didn't think of this earlier. She chalked it up to her befuddled mind and body. "Wait. Who won the challenge?"
Chef chuckled. "Was waiting for you to ask. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but not you."
"…Oh. Yeah, I thought as much. W-What was up with the babies anyway?"
"Feh. Wasn't my idea, that's for sure. Not like anyone listens to ol' Chef anymore these days. If I had my way, I'd have those kids in a daycare instead of on some metal deathtrap."
"R… Right." Metal? What's that supposed to mean? …Oh forget it, I'm too tired to think.
There were a few more tests done to check Sammy's consciousness levels - eye charts, inkblot tests, and others - and soon Chef had a satisfied answer. "You're gonna be fine," he told her. "More of a scare than anything, really, but any longer under the snow and there would've been consequences."
"Oh. That's good," she said. She was starting to feel a little warmer, but not by much. "Am I allowed to go now?"
"Soon," Chef told her. "But you should be fine for visitors if you want. I can call for Ella or anyone else to stop by."
"Yes please," she answered immediately.
Chef summoned an intern to do his dirty work while he unhooked the various machines connected to Sammy, and within the next ten minutes Ella burst through the tent's opening. She looked winded, her cheeks flushed and her eyes once more filled with tears. It's… heartbreaking how many times I've seen her that way.
"Sammy!" she nearly shouted and quickly strode over to the bed she was on.
"Hey," Sammy replied, her voice still a little hoarse. "How're you doing?"
"Me?!" Ella asked, dropping to her knees by the bed. "What about you?! You were buried in an avalanche! Who cares about me?!"
Sammy only smiled at her. "I do, obviously."
Ella's face, already red from running, almost seemed to get redder. "W-W-Well thank you, but that's not what we're talking about!"
"I know," she replied. Ella's immense worry was rather flattering. "I'll be okay. Chef said it wasn't anything to worry about, just a scare."
"It certainly felt like more than just a scare," Ella mumbled. "But if you say you're alright…"
"I am," Sammy reassured. "But… I won't lie. It was pretty terrifying."
Ella nodded sadly. "I can't even begin to imagine."
"Though I don't know which one was worse, the avalanche or the bear," she said. "Probably the bear, since I was awake for that one. At least I was out cold when I-" She snorted and laughed lightly, though she ended up coughing painfully. "Out… Out cold under the snow. Ha. I should write that one down."
"Be serious please!" Ella pleaded, slapping her hands onto the bed in agitation. She didn't look amused at all. "Do you… do you know how scared I was? Not only do I see you almost devoured, I see you get lost under a giant pile of snow!" She wiped at her eyes and sniffed. "I was worried out of my mind! And that was only in the span of three days!"
Sammy found herself at a loss of words. Of course Ella was going to be worried. Perhaps she should take her own well-being more seriously. "Y… You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be saying stuff like that now."
"Thank you." She relaxed a little, sighing heavily to release the tension. "…It was funny. But now isn't the time."
"Knew it," Sammy said in delight.
"Samantha…"
"Uh, sorry."
Despite herself, Ella couldn't help but give a half-smile. "If you're able to make jokes, you must be fine."
"I am," Sammy told her. "It's just a little discomfort in my chest. I'll be fine."
Ella hummed in thought, and she turned towards Chef. "Is she good to keep playing?"
"She will be, but she ain't going anywhere for the time being," he answered.
"That's a relief," she said with an accompanying sigh.
"Yeah," Sammy agreed. "So, um… what happened when I went under? Chef said you started digging me out?"
"Mhm. We were behind you and the rest of… your team, just when we were handing in our babies." She shuddered and shook her head. "That sounds so weird to say… Anyway, we only just started with the zone when Topher screamed out, so we managed to get away from the cliff before we got hit. I guess you guys weren't so lucky."
"Nope. We most certainly were not."
"When that happened and everything settled, our team ran ahead and crossed the line. Before I did, though, I saw that you were the only one who hadn't surfaced, and I was starting to worry." Her eyes went unfocused as she remembered. "Then I started to panic. I started digging where I thought you were, but Jasmine told me you were closer to her and I was wasting time and I started over, and I was just getting so scared that you were under the snow for too long and then-" She sharply took in a breath. "Then I saw you. And you didn't see me."
There wasn't anything Sammy could say to that. How are you supposed to reply to your best friend finding your unconscious body like that?
"I started screaming, and tried digging faster, but there was so much snow that I wasn't getting anywhere. That's when Chef and some interns came over and shovelled you out, faster than I would've. You… You weren't breathing when they pulled you out."
"Oh, god." She knew that, of course, but to see it from Ella's perspective made her feel anxiety like no other. "I'm so sorry."
"I know," she replied. "While they were resuscitating you, Amy pulled me across the finish line and let us win, but the moment we did I went right back to your side. Unfortunately… Chef said they needed space and told me not to come." She folded her arms over herself, as if she was the one who was cold from the snow. "It's been a… very slow and agonizing few hours since. But, truly, I'm just glad you're okay."
"I'm glad I am too. Thank you for worrying about me."
"Of course."
They talked for another few minutes, before Ella embarrassedly said she needed to go to the bathroom, saying she was in the middle of heading for the confessional when the intern found her, and she hurried off to find it. "Good luck doing that," Sammy called out to her as she exited the tent. "It's always in a different place than before."
Almost exactly one minute passed, and the tent flap opened up again.
Sammy looked over. "Back so soon-"
It wasn't Ella, but Amy, and the words died in Sammy's mouth.
They stared at each other for a few moments. Amy looked none the worse for wear, if perhaps a little messy from the pasta staining her shirt, but she was looking at Sammy from top to bottom with… something in her eyes. And whatever that something was, it wasn't ire, or pride, or a desire to gloat and insult her. It was… almost like pity. Or sympathy. Which was so alien on Amy's features that Sammy second-guessed herself more than once.
And then, the silence was broken. "Hi," said Amy curtly.
Sammy was expecting a jab or something, not a proper greeting, so it took her a second to respond. "…Hi."
"You, uh…" She stopped herself, breathed in and out once, and tried again. "How are you?"
"Um… Fine, I guess. A little weak, but it's nothing major."
"Oh… Good."
"Yeah."
And the silence returned. Sammy was now acutely aware that something was going on in Amy's head, but she just wasn't sure what. The fact that Amy had been less confrontational than normal, and actively sought her out to find out how she was, spoke volumes of how different she'd been acting recently. Was it all because of Sammy standing up for herself? She truly had no idea, and probably wouldn't until Amy brought it up herself.
But it seemed today wouldn't be that day. Amy seemed to struggle once more, like she wanted to say something, but in the end she gave up and turned on her heel. "Okay, uh. Bye."
"Amy, wait."
She did, and turned her head back. "What?"
Truthfully, Sammy called out to her without thinking. Given any other time, she'd probably look like an idiot with nothing to say. But thankfully she did have a question she wanted to ask. "I have a question, and I promise you I'm not trying to be sassy or mean or anything."
Amy paused for a good few seconds, and she turned back around fully. "Go ahead."
I should phrase this correctly so she doesn't flip out… "What was it that happened between you and Topher? Were you two together?"
Her nostrils flared and her mouth formed a thin line, but she didn't glare or look angry. In fact, she wasn't looking at Sammy at all now. "What's it to you?"
"Nothing! I just… I want to know. I, um, already heard about it from Topher himself, but I want your side of the story."
She let out an agitated breath. "I asked him out, he said yes, and two days later he dumped my ass. End of story. Happy?"
That's what everyone else is saying… so I guess it's true. "Did he say… why he dumped you?"
Her hands were clenched into fists from that question. "He did."
She didn't elaborate. Based on what Topher told her earlier, she didn't need to. "I see."
"Can I go now?" Amy asked impatiently. "Is the interrogation over with?"
"One more question."
She groaned. "What now?"
This kind of goes against what I want, but it also doesn't, I think. Weird. "Do you… want me to vote for him tonight?"
That caught Amy completely off guard, and the tension in her body evaporated entirely. She stared Sammy down, as if she didn't believe her. "You're… asking me? Why?"
"I'm asking you because even though he was a complete tool during the challenge today… I was still going to vote for Scarlett."
"Scarlett?" she repeated. "Why her?"
"Because of what she helped Max do to Ella back during that water challenge. I was going to ask Jasmine to help, and convince Topher to do so as well. And with how he royally screwed up today, I figured he'd jump at the chance. But…"
"Now you're going to vote Topher off instead," Amy finished for her. "And it's because I want him gone?"
"It's not entirely because of you," Sammy clarified. "I'm pissed at him, too. He's really the reason why we lost, and why I'm in here now. I guess… you're just helping me come to a decision, is all."
"…Oh." She thought this over for a few moments. It was really a yes or no question, so whatever was actually going on inside her head was a mystery to Sammy. Finally, she looked back up to her and nodded. "Do it."
And that's that. Topher's fate is sealed. Sammy nodded back. "Okay. Um… Thanks."
Amy stared, wide-eyed yet blinking rapidly. But she didn't make a fuss about it. "…Yeah. No problem."
She left then without another word, and Sammy released a breath of relief.
And… so did Chef Hatchet, apparently. "Phew!" he exclaimed, causing Sammy to jump in shock. She had forgotten about him entirely. "Man that was tense!" He looked at Sammy in what almost looked like awe. "You needed a chainsaw to cut the tension there! Props to you for sticking through that your whole life, girlie."
Now it was Sammy's turn to stare. "Uhh… Thanks?" I think.
"What are you so happy about?" Scarlett snarled at Topher. "You realize you're going home, right?"
"Oh, we'll see who's going home tonight," Topher said to her. He had been sporting a huge grin on his face ever since he arrived at the elimination ceremony, for a reason Sammy couldn't figure out. It certainly didn't make her feel any better when he didn't apologize for almost killing her. She shared a look with Jasmine, who only shrugged in response.
"Scarlett," Chris said, throwing a marshmallow to the brainiac. "Jasmine, and Samey," he did the same with them, and Sammy caught hers easily enough. "You're all safe for tonight. And, I'm ecstatic to announce that-"
Topher seemed to almost shake on the spot. "You're eliminated, Chris!" He couldn't contain his excitement any longer, sliding up to Chris and pointing right in his face.
"Who, me? Whatever do you mean?" Chris asked him, his voice sounding a touch higher than normal.
"News flash!" Topher turned to the rest of his team. "Chris is going home, and I'm in charge of the show!"
"Wait, what?" Sammy asked loudly. Jasmine and Scarlett gave similar shocked gasps. That's the last thing I was expecting him to say!
"I got the phone call from the producers during the challenge," he explained haughtily. "That's why I cheered, and that's why I don't care that we lost, because I am now in charge! Ha!"
Her mouth hung open in shock as she watched Topher do a victory dance. "You…" All eyes turned to Sammy as she stood and stared Topher down. "You're the one who caused the avalanche, and yet you don't care about it? And, and all this time you were just after Chris's job?!"
"Uh, duh," he said to her. "Why else would I risk my face and hair playing this kind of game?"
"And that's why you were on that phone this whole time? Not paying attention to the challenge and making it so much more difficult for us?"
"What do you want me to say?" Topher asked. "I was just biding my time until the opportunity came up. You're the ones who were getting all worked up over the game. Not my fault I played you all like a fiddle."
Sammy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was right before - Topher was an uncaring snake and thought everyone else in the world as below him. She knew there was something slimy about him from day one.
She didn't bother to think her next action through - she strode up to Topher and slapped him hard across the cheek with everything she had. The impact was loud, and Topher ended up stumbling some feet away as he cried out in pain. On top of that, her own hand hurt, so it must've been a good hit.
"You bastard!" she screamed at him. "You don't care about the game, you don't care about almost killing me, and you didn't care at all for my sister! You're a monster!" She massaged her hand and glared through slitted eyes. "Though I guess you have to be if you're even considering taking this job!"
He almost didn't seem like he heard her, as he was too busy fussing over the hand imprint on his cheek. "Agh, that stings!" He walked up to her and stared her down, but Sammy made sure to hold her ground. He tried using his little bit of height to his advantage, though it didn't do much. "Oh yeah, you're definitely Amy's sister, you little bitch! How about this: as the new host, it's my decree that you're the one getting eliminated tonight! How do you like the sound of that?"
Sammy had no time to react to that statement - and if she did, she'd probably slap him on the other side of his face - as Chris interrupted them both. For some reason, in a fake beard and hat. "Oh, Topher!" he said into a microphone, in a deeper and gruffer-sounding voice. "Sorry to say, but… there's been a change of plans!"
Topher went wide-eyed and any hint of aggression dropped from his body instantly. He started stuttering and mumbling and pointing at Chris in absolute confusion. Sammy, likewise, was just as puzzled. "Um… Sorry, what's going on?"
"First rule of showbiz, kids," Chris said to them as Topher continued stammering. "Never play a playa. I knew he had my phone this whole time."
More questions popped up in Sammy's brain, but instead of butting in she decided to let everything play out. Apparently Topher had been trying to contact the producers of the show, but instead of them calling him it was Chris calling his own phone pretending to be them. He sabotaged Topher's chance of becoming host of Total Drama by playing him like he was trying to play everyone else.
Sitting back down on her tree stump and wrapping herself back up, Sammy said, "Huh. So that's the subplot I was missing."
Without another glance at the others, Chris grinned and walked away. "Come along, Topher. You've got a date with a cannon."
Chef easily picked him up over his shoulder, ignoring the fact that Topher was still trying to comprehend everything, and brought him down the path. When the hosts were out of sight, Scarlett sighed and stood up. "Thank god he's gone. I'm fairly certain this team's collective IQ just went up by a severe amount."
Jasmine suddenly slapped Sammy on the back, causing her to grunt loudly. "That was a righteous wallop there! I didn't know you had it in you!"
She chuckled nervously. "Uh, thanks. My hand still hurts though." She tried to shake away the pain, but of course that wouldn't do anything.
"I'm rather surprised you defended your sister during all of that," Scarlett observed. "From what I can tell, you two aren't particularly fond of one another."
In the heat of the moment, she hadn't even meant to say it. But at this point, Sammy wasn't all that surprised herself. "Yeah, well… I guess things change, y'know? I mean… I still don't like her. I don't think I ever will. But I also don't like Topher, and I know he hurt Amy, so… I dunno. Part of it was just said in the moment, too."
Scarlett nodded. "Hm. Understandable. Words and actions can be nigh incomprehensible when emotions are running high. It's just the flaws of being human."
"Man you sound like an encyclopedia sometimes, you know that?" Jasmine asked with a laugh.
"It's really not intentional, I assure you."
In their discussion, Sammy forgot where they were for a second, and jumped and screamed when the cannon fired below them. Topher's own screaming was heard for only a few seconds before the quiet of the night resumed.
"And that takes care of that," Jasmine said. She too stood and started down the path back towards the treehouse. "C'mon, let's head back."
She and Scarlett left the ceremony area, though Sammy stayed back and looked out to where she assumed Topher had flown off. She was glad he was gone - now they were able to focus on the challenges without having to worry about one of them being too distracted. And… maybe Amy will be a bit more at ease without him around.
She didn't know why she was looking out for her sister when she never did that for her at all before. Maybe there was a part of her deep down that wanted to have a normal relationship with her, to be able to laugh with her and talk with her and not have it devolve into a shouting contest between them. She knew she had those thoughts before, imagining what it would be like to have a friendship with a sibling like other people did, and maybe there was hope in her that their recent conversations were leading to a turning point for Amy.
But that was only hope. Realistically, it wouldn't be that easy. There were too many bad memories, too much trauma, for Sammy to forgive Amy for everything she'd ever done to her.
Maybe someday in the future Sammy could find it to forgive her.
But not right now.
With one final huff she turned back and followed her team to camp. She really needed to get some shut-eye.
In this chapter, I ended up writing Sammy a bit more frustrated and snappy than usual. I feel that the combination of being forced away from her friends, participating in such a ridiculous and dangerous challenge, and having to deal with (babysit) Topher during the entire thing would most certainly get on her nerves. All in all, it was an entertaining chapter to write, and it let me call out on whatever it was the original show writers were trying to do with Topher. Like, seriously, I can count on one hand the number of times he did something helpful in a challenge that wasn't part of a group (monkey-see, monkey-do) or simply completing his leg of a challenge (grease pig zip-line). He barely contributed at all to his team - his role in the show was literally just to try and upstage Chris, and that got old quick. The only thing I can think of is getting one of the sticks for his team during the fifth challenge, but even then he didn't hit Dave off of the platform and ended up helping the other team score at the same time. I tried giving him a slightly bigger role in this story, but ultimately he proved to be just slightly less ineffective here than in canon.
As well, we learn more about his and Amy's relationship, but not everything. More info on that will come later, though I feel like I keep saying that and not giving enough… Oh well, story's not finished yet!
Speaking of though… I'm very sorry to have to say this, but I think I'll be taking a short break from writing. The next chapter I'm writing is taking forever and it's likely I need to spend some time away from it before going on. Probably writer's block or something. I have plans for future chapters, but for some reason I never got around to coming up with anything concrete for this current one, and having to write a lot of it on the fly is rather tricky. I hope you all understand and don't mind me taking some time off. I can see myself coming back sometime mid- to late-July, but probably nothing earlier than that. Again, I'm very sorry!
But regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I certainly did. Remember to leave a review, and I look forward to seeing you again next time (whenever that will be)!
